The fame of Dante and Petrarch spread throughout Italy early in the 15th century, spearheaded by people like Leonardo Bruni and other humanist enthusiasts. Bruni’s brief biography of Dante and Petrarch extols the literary and intellectual merits of both men and judges one against the other. For Bruni, both are great, and both have contributed to the glory of Florence. If one (Dante) excels in the active life and epic poetry, the other (Petrarch) equally excels in the solitary life and lyric poetry. Although it is by no means the only biography of Petrarch, Bruni’s Vita appears frequently in Petrarch manuscripts, offering an important and popular portrait of the poet. In Marston MS 149, the lives of Dante and Petrarch are bound with other works by Bruni, including the Italian translation of his Commentary on the Punic War.